2022-11-14 GC Agenda - Item 4 - Attachment 1 - Short Term Accommodation Monitoring Report 2022

Part 3–Commencement Noosa Plan 2020 July 31 2020
This part will provide:
       an overview of the situation in Noosa and emerging issues during the first 2 years of
        Noosa Plan 2020 operation;
       an outline and review of the provisions of NP2020 relating to housing, short-term
        accommodation, tourism economy and community well-being;
       statistics on the economy, employment and tourism between July 2020 and July 2022;
       housing needs identified by the 2021 Housing Needs Assessment and actions in the
        Housing Strategy;
       the extent and type of tourist accommodation as at July 2022;
       the impacts from COVID 19 between July 2020 and July 2022.


3.1 Overview July 31 2020-July 31 2022
Noosa Plan 2020 (NP2020) commenced during the COVID 19 global pandemic and national
housing crisis, both of which impacted Noosa Shire during the entire first 2 years of its
operation.
Impacts from COVID 19 has seen, and will continue to see, significant changes for business,
technology and innovation, mobility and where and how people work, influencing the economy,
employment, housing and the tourism sectors.
In Noosa Shire, affects were particularly felt in the tourism and hospitality industries and both
the purchase and rental housing markets.
Noosa attracted many temporary and permanent sea changers over the last 2 years, escaping
harsh lockdowns in southern states, particularly from Victoria. Some short-term
accommodation properties moved back and forth between temporary occupation by residents
and short-term use depending on the lockdown restrictions and presence of tourists.
Nationally there was, and continues to be, a housing crisis, the effects of which are significant
in Noosa Shire. Demand for rental housing is outstripping supply with extremely low vacancy
rates fueling significant price increases in the rental market. The housing market also boomed
with demand for properties high, particularly from investors and relocations from southern
states, with significant price increases across all housing types and locations.
In early / mid 2022 the cost of living across Australia was on the rise with high inflation rates
prompting the Reserve Bank to increase the official cash rate multiple times from historic lows
during the peak of the COVID 19 pandemic.
In response to the housing crisis, Noosa Council prepared a new Housing Needs Assessment
in 2021 and Housing Strategy in 2022. Whilst there were varying community opinions on how
or indeed whether Council should be involved in the housing market, the overwhelming
response from the community was that short-term accommodation was the biggest issue for
housing availability and contributor to the housing crisis in Noosa.
Whilst the Noosa community was clearly recognising the impacts of short term accommodation
on housing supply and housing affordably, following the introduction of NP2020, quite a
number of property investors sought confirmation of existing use rights for short term
accommodation and superseded planning scheme applications were made for the use of
houses for short term accommodation. 85% of property owners of short term accommodation
are located interstate, overseas or in other Queensland locations and do note reside in Noosa
Shire.
In response to residential amenity issues arising from short term accommodation in residential
areas, in early 2022 Council introduced a new local law for short stay letting and home hosted
accommodation. A 24 hour complaints hotline was also established to record complaint calls
and engage with the contact person responsible for dealing with complaints at the property.

                                                                                           pg. 76
Noosa Council Monitoring Report 2022/23